…And Other Stories. Humorous Tales from the ER.

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Monthly Archives: October 2007

As has been the case for the past year or two, the individual cases I see are not all that exciting for me anymore. Rather, its the interaction with my patients and their families that makes or breaks my day. At the moment, I can’t recall a single diagnosis from any of the patients I saw today, but I do…

Setting: 2:13 AM, Saturday, Halloween Weekend. Nursing Station of a busy inner-city emergency room. The department is spookily quiet. Jodi & Sonya, both nurses in their mid 50s, sit side by side filling out paperwork. JODI: Do you realize, Sonya, that we have been working together for over seventeen years. And we still get along! And the award for best…

This weekend Doc Shazam is going mountain biking with 3 friends for a 3 day weekend. The week has been filled with cleaning, shopping and gathering supplies to make sure we have a fantastic weekend of riding. More fun filled tales of gore from the ER next week. Maybe even some gore filled photos from the weekend. One can only…

OK, I’ve been trying to be really positive today, but I wanted to share 3 cases that didn’t need to come to the ER today. 1) 12 year old with a sore throat. The school nurse said, “Go to the Emergency Room” 2) An 80ish year old lady who was IN her doctor’s office, had a Normal EKG taken, lab…

Mr. Hassle’s Long Underpants recently underwent a complete make-over. (And I only got a handful of comments on it…love it or hate it, let me know!) Part of the makeover was the addition of two different sources of ad revenue that hopefully do little to interfere with your enjoyment of the site. Why did I decide to use ads? I…

Warning: These are my own thoughts and reactions after coming across this video. As far as I know, the police officers have not been tried or disciplined, the autopsy results have not been released, and the judge has closed the case. Everything below is based my own thoughts after seeing the video and reading related press reports. First I ran…

While I’ve been seeking my own thrills in the form of mountain bike and cylcocross races, I came across this article today in the Wall Street Journal’s Health Blog called ER Docs Feel the Need for Speed. Do you feel the need for speed?

The other day I got a mini care package from a friend. Tea and cookies (sort of). It was a nice box and I opened it and left it on my desk. My nice, clean, clutter free desk. I left the box there for the evening, then the next day, then the next 3 evenings. At first it was just…

This is a wonderfully told story of a trauma call to a bunch of drunks on bikes in the woods. The overall tone of the response is serene and peaceful, at least by my take. Despite the mayhem that could be expected at the scene, PDX EMT keeps his cool, thinks it all through and comes very, very close to…